WoW Gold Expert Elvine Weighs in on the WoW Token

We recently saw confirmation that the WoW Token is coming to the game. Blizzard will officially begin to start selling gold via game time to its player base. The exchange, as detailed in the original article, will center around game time, allowing players to buy game time for real money and sell it for gold, and also allowing players to buy game time for gold.

How much will the WoW Token cost in real money?

No price has been set yet on how much players will have to pay in order to obtain the token to sell in game. My speculation is that it will cost $5 more than the standard monthly subscription, so $20 or thereabouts. Wildstar has a similar cost gap, with a month of game time being $14.99, compared to a Commodities Exchange token at $19.99. Ion noted that the token would cost more than a month's subscription, and $20 wouldn't be surprising.

How will this translate into in-game gold?

“We’re going to look at some things like the current going rate of gold on third-party market sites,”

My personal opinion is this will be very hard to take into consideration since many gold selling companies are offering $0.70/1000g and even cheaper if players buy a larger quantity, as low as $0.50/1000g.

Venturebeat Interview

Image Credit: Heather Newman, VenturebeatLapsed Accounts:One nice feature: If you have a lapsed WoW account that has enough gold in it to purchase a token, you can do that right from the character select screen. Right now, lapsed accounts are restricted – players are subject to the same constraints as trial accounts, able to only play lower-level characters and barred from the auction house and trade.

On a lapsed account, if your higher level character with enough gold, you’ll see a “Reactivate with gold” button, even though you can’t log into that character.

Price fluctuations:While buyers and sellers will see guaranteed prices at the time they list a token or purchase one, the market’s day-to-day sale prices in gold will actually fluctuate depending on auction house activity.

At any given point, all if the tokens in the auction house will share the same price across a geographic region (the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and China), but that price will move up or down depending on an algorithm calculating historical supply or demand in that area.

One interesting note is that no matter when or how big the movement in the market is, sellers and buyers will always be guaranteed to get the price they saw. If a seller posts a token and the market moves downward before a buyer picks it up, the purchaser will pay the cheaper price — but the seller will still get the higher gold price they were quoted when listing the token. The same thing will happen in reverse: If a buyer pays more gold for the token than the seller was promised, the seller will still get paid the lower price.

Price Point EstablishmentBlizzard will start off by setting a gold price for the tokens in each region and then let supply and demand take over.“We’re going to look at some things like the current going rate of gold on third-party market sites,” Hazzikostas said — the very sites Blizzard has fought for a decade to shut down. “Clearly that’s an indicator of what demand levels exist.”

“We are going to set a price. That price is likely to vary from region to region,” Hazzikostas said. “The economies from WoW servers are pretty consistent from server to server but vary widely from region to region.”

One way Blizzard knows the price differences between regions is because WoW developers have assembled a “market basket” of trade goods – cloth, ore, flasks, and so on – which they use to compare one region’s prices against another.

“America and Europe are pretty comparable,” he said. “The experience is comparable for players regardless of which realm you’re on. It’s West versus East, in a sense; North America and Europe are on the lower end of the spectrum, and in Asian regions, there’s a bit more gold per player.”

The Black Market Auction House and Pay To WinWoW’s Black Market Auction House offers high gold auctions of extremely rare items, though those are more likely to be pets, mounts, and cosmetic items and less likely to be things that add to player performance.

“There are a handful of items that do fall into that category,” Hazzikostas said. “I think honestly this also leads us to re-evaluate some of those things that are , some things at the Black Market Auction House, and the level of item that becomes available there.

“I think it’s important to us that we do adhere to that original ideal: that the strongest items in World of Warcraft are the ones that you earn yourself through direct accomplishment, and aren’t buying from another player.”

Blizzard

Coming soon to an Azeroth near you: the WoW Token, a new in-game item that allows players to simply and securely exchange gold and game time between each other.

Players will be able to purchase a WoW Token through the in-game Shop for real money, and then sell it on the Auction House for gold at the current market price. When a player buys a WoW Token from the Auction House for gold, the Token becomes Soulbound, and the player can then redeem it for 30 days of game time.

Want to buy a WoW Token for gold? Head to the new Game Time tab in the Auction House, and purchase one immediately for the current gold buyout price—there’s no bidding involved.

When you put a WoW Token up for sale, you’ll be quoted the amount of gold you’ll receive once someone buys it—you’re guaranteed to get that amount no matter how the market moves.

The WoW Token was created to give players with lots of extra gold the option to use it to help cover their subscription cost, and give those who want to purchase gold a way to do so from fellow players through a secure, easy-to-use system. The Token will be making its debut in an upcoming patch—in the meantime, check out the FAQ below for details on how it works.

FAQTHE BASICS

Q: How do I buy a WoW Token for real money?A: WoW Tokens will be available for purchase for real money through the World of Warcraft in-game Shop. You can access the Shop through the row of feature buttons next to your character’s bags.

Q: I need gold! How do I sell a WoW Token to another player?A: You’ll be able to sell WoW Tokens through a dedicated Token exchange in the Auction House, located in a new Game Time section. WoW Tokens cannot be traded or sold any other way.

Q: How much gold will I receive when I sell a WoW Token?A: The gold value of a Token will be determined dynamically based on supply and demand. When you put a Token up for sale, you’ll be quoted the amount of gold you’ll receive upon a successful sale. If you then decide to place the Token up for sale, that amount is locked in, and the gold will be sent to your mailbox after another player purchases your Token.

Q: I need game time! How do I buy a WoW Token from the Auction House?A: When you visit the Auction House, you’ll be presented with the current market price for a WoW Token in your game region—there’s no bidding involved, and all Tokens in a game region are priced the same at any given moment. If you decide to purchase one, you’ll receive it in your mailbox, and can then immediately redeem it for game time.

Q: How much game time do I get by redeeming a WoW Token?A: You’ll receive 30 days of game time when you redeem a WoW Token.

Q: Can I resell a WoW Token after I’ve purchased it for gold?A: No, each WoW Token can only be sold once. After you purchase a Token for gold, it becomes Soulbound. At that point, it can only be redeemed for game time.

THE DETAILS

Q: How much will a WoW Token cost on the Shop?A: Pricing details will be announced at a later date.

Q: Why are you introducing the WoW Token feature?A: We’ve heard feedback from players that they’d be interested in a secure, legitimate way to acquire gold that doesn’t involve the use of unauthorized third-party gold-selling services—one of the primary sources of account compromises. We also know players who’ve amassed large amounts of gold through regular play would be interested in the ability to trade some to other players in exchange for game time, helping cover their subscription costs. The WoW Token feature gives players on both sides of the equation a secure and straightforward way to make that exchange. It opens up a new kind of payment option for World of Warcraft players, and we hope that it will also help lead to fewer account compromises and a better game experience overall.

Q: How is acquiring gold by selling a WoW Token different from buying gold from third-party services?A: Buying gold from third-party services negatively impacts the game experience for everyone. The overwhelming majority of the gold these services provide comes from stolen player accounts, halting the victims’ ability to play the game and contribute to their guilds. On top of this, gold selling companies often farm resources using hack programs, sell fake product codes as a scam, and spam entire realms with ads to buy gold, disrupting the game in very real ways.

The WoW Token allows players to exchange real money for gold in a secure and sanctioned way—together with the ongoing efforts of our developers, support staff, and anti-hack teams to stop the exploits these companies use and help players who have become victims of their operations, we hope the Token can help make World of Warcraft a safer and more enjoyable game for all of our players.

Q: Why can’t players set their own prices for the WoW Token?A: The WoW Token feature is designed to facilitate the exchange of gold and game time between players in as secure, convenient, and fair a way as possible, and without making players feel like they’re playing a game with their hard-earned money. Having a set current market price and a straightforward exchange system is the best way to achieve that—you don’t need to worry about whether your Token will sell or not due to being undercut or the market shifting, and everyone receives exactly the amount of gold they were quoted.

Q: What happens if the price quoted to me is different from what the Token actually sells for?A: You will always receive the gold amount quoted to you at the time you place a Token up for sale, regardless of what the current price is when the item actually sells.

Q: How long should I expect to receive my gold after putting a Token up for sale? How does the game determine whose Token to sell?A: The amount of time it takes to receive your gold after putting a Token up for sale depends on a variety of factors, including the current supply and demand. When you list a Token, you’ll be quoted an estimated time based on the current Token supply and the rate of recent transactions, but the actual amount of time it takes to sell is likely to vary (note that Tokens do not expire). In most cases, Tokens are sold in the order in which they were put up for sale; however, there are some exceptions to this, such as when a Token purchase is undergoing verification.

Q: If I buy a WoW Token from the Auction House, how long does it take to receive the Token?A: Just like a standard Auction House purchase, it will normally arrive in your mailbox nearly instantaneously.

Q: If I’m buying a WoW Token for real money from the in-game Shop, how long does it take to receive it?A: Once you successfully complete a purchase, your Token should arrive in your inventory (or mailbox, if your inventory is full) almost immediately.

Q: Do Tokens expire? What happens if I accidentally delete one?A: No, Tokens do not expire. They also can’t be deleted, so no need to fear accidentally trashing them.

Q: Can I stop my auction or receive a refund after it was purchased (for gold or real money)?A: All transactions are considered final and auctions cannot be cancelled, so make sure you’re certain you want to proceed before listing or buying a Token. To help prevent unintentional transactions, you will be prompted to confirm your purchase or sale before it’s finalized.

Q: Is there a deposit? Does the Auction House take a cut of the Token seller’s gold?A: There’s no deposit, and the Auction House does not take a cut of the gold for WoW Token sales. The standard deposit is designed to dissuade players from spamming the auction house with items that aren’t selling, and the standard cut is designed to dissuade players from buying and reselling items for minuscule markups. These issues don’t apply to the WoW Token, so there’s no need for a deposit or cut.

Q: Will each game region have its own WoW Token exchange? Will everyone in a game region have access to it?A: Each game region—Americas (including ANZ realms), Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and China—will have its own shared WoW Token exchange. We’ll share additional details at a later date.

Комментарии

Комментарий от SekseNation

That's pretty Neat <3 Atleast now you can maintain your sub with gold money and save real money. I think i understood that correctly lol.

Комментарий от Aethe1bert

on 2015-03-02T12:08:48-06:00

Just curious how much could it cost on AH. 10k? 20k?

Комментарий от Woodford1234

on 2015-03-02T12:11:21-06:00

This is a pretty nice change. Seeing as games like EVE have been doing it for years this should work out fairly well.

Комментарий от PveManno

on 2015-03-02T12:13:49-06:00

I'm more excited for and still waiting for the new shop mount myself. But may end up selling some of these personally :)

Комментарий от MissSea

on 2015-03-02T12:15:09-06:00

Just curious how much could it cost on AH. 10k? 20k?

Whatever the market will bear. It would stand to reason that on less populated realms, gametime might be quite expensive, as with all mats/gear, etc. On more populated realms (think Stormrage or Area 52), it might be quite cheap. But it also depends hugely on how much RL money folks have to burn on buying game time.

This feels a bit like what the Guild Wars 2 folks are doing ... there, you buy gems and can redeem them for gold. Blizz is going to make a fortune off of this system ...

Комментарий от Aca87

on 2015-03-02T12:15:41-06:00

10k 20k? its more like 70-80k and maybe even more. Gold is really cheap and u can farm it without any problems. So i guess tokens will be quite expensive.

Комментарий от zubsatervnus

on 2015-03-02T12:18:38-06:00

This is great and now we can buy game time 100% secure :)

Комментарий от Oixio

on 2015-03-02T12:28:32-06:00

I believe this will be one of the best innovations introduced into the game latelly.Just don't rush this - consider all details.I really hope this will work as planned.

Комментарий от tessae

on 2015-03-02T12:35:49-06:00

Eve Online has been doing this for years. They set the real cash price for tokens just low enough to force the gold farmers out of business.

They don't need to set the AH price, though ... they might set a floor price, say a large vendor price for the token. Then the player will always be able to get some gold for the token, but will allow the AH to set the correct market price. The vendor price should be set low enough to encourage the player to AH the token, instead of adding new gold to the game by vendoring it.

Комментарий от dexxter2010

on 2015-03-02T12:39:50-06:00

Blizz is going to make a fortune off of this system ...

If I understand the system correctly I don't see Blizzard making any extra money from this. One player gives Blizzard $ for a token and after the AH transfer another player saves the same amount of $ by not paying a month subscription. This is assuming that the price for a token is the same as a 1 month subscription fee. The amount of gold for the transfer is the major variable, not the $ amount.

Of course, if the price for a token is higher than a monthly subscription then they make a profit.

Комментарий от Bakaleaf

on 2015-03-02T12:51:46-06:00

This sounds like EVE's PLEX system. Game-time currency able to be traded for in-game currency. Only a matter of time till either server economies are based on how many of these you can buy and how many gold farmers are working... or the currency rate is so pathetic noone buys them. At least the PLEX arent just game time, there are several features only it can unlock so buying and selling has more reasons.

Personally I feel its the "need" for a system to let players acquire large amounts of gold in a short time is an issue itself. The first "gold sink" was epic mount training in vanilla, only warlocks and paladins got out of it. Then came epic flight in bc. Then the traveler's mammoth in wrath, and its only gotten worse. Now alliance, and horde who missed the event, have to shell out 100k for the top expensive mount. Can we get a count on all the mounts that cost hard line 10k+ gold? Off the top of my head examples; Sandstone Drake, all three non-heirloom choppers, and the gem cats.

I know its plenty to make people think they "need" a way to buy gold. All a gold sink does is make players who cant spend many many many hours farming or just dont have luck with the AH, which is most players i know...something like 80%, decide to either say "screw this im out" or "ok mr.hackyhack... gimme the gold".

The ability to buy gold in Diablo 3 was an attempt at the SAME THING. That backfired horribly for them and now they wanna try it on WoW? The only way their going to stop people buying gold, because you know gold farmers are just gonna offer higher gold/$ rates, is to simply either make gold easier to get or lower the stupid sinks.

Heck why not a freaking tax? The point of a gold sink is to drain gold from the economy so it cant inflate to stupid levels. A tax would do the same and could be tuned to force a hard cap for the economy of every server. Charactor has 10k+ gold? Every week at maintence it losses 100g per 10,000g. Stops if it drops below and the worst a server can be hit per account is 1100g...out of the 110,000g they have.

And another thing, whos getting the time again? Account A buys a token and puts it on market. Account B buys token for gold it has. Account A gets the gold, Account B gets the time. Now replace Account A with player wanting quick fix and Account B with gold farmer... oh hey looky now Blizz is even loosing out on the gold farmers cash. Least they wont need to steal your credit card anymore.

Комментарий от collegedog909

on 2015-03-02T12:55:44-06:00

a lot more than 20k. lol seeing as u can make 100k in 1 day with light farming. Blizzard does not want to go out of business here.

Комментарий от DaltonImperial

on 2015-03-02T12:56:17-06:00

Would be nice if it were possible for an inactive account (with a fair amount of gold on a single character) to be able to buy a game time token; paying $15 to get 2 months is a little less appealing than paying no real money for one month.

Say I pay real money for a token but then change my mind: can I use it for a month of game time for my account, or do I have to sell the token to someone else in exchange for gold?

Will be interesting to see how many of these are listed on AHs (whether it's ten an hour or ten a week on a typical server), as I would just guess that more people would be interested in buying them on the AH for game time than selling on the AH for gold.

Комментарий от Gellus

on 2015-03-02T12:57:04-06:00

Out of curiosity, and looking at the worst case scenario here, what happens if you run out of game time in the middle of a token transaction? I know the transaction wouldn't take long, but lets play devil's advocate here and say certain circumstances occur, last few minutes of game time, you go to the AH and buy a token, the game/computer crashes, your internet DCs, your server DCs, whatever it is, you are unable to use that token before your game timer ticks down, what now?

I know there was talk about the "Veteran" account system, which allows pre-existing accounts access to their accounts with similar restrictions to a "Starter" account. But your token is on a now inaccessible character, do you get some prompt that asks if you want to use the token to restore game time and access to your >20 level characters?

Might as well know, it's gonna happen. One way or another, this will happen, things like this ALWAYS happen.

Комментарий от LoKHor

on 2015-03-02T12:57:44-06:00

The token system is two-fold: to make players happy and to reduce gold selling and it's accompanying spam. I don't think anyone will be able to accuse Blizzard of trying to turn an extra profit.

Комментарий от krh121791

on 2015-03-02T13:07:43-06:00

My pick axe and I will become even better friends now.

Комментарий от Aethe1bert

on 2015-03-02T13:10:04-06:00

10k 20k? its more like 70-80k and maybe even more. Gold is really cheap and u can farm it without any problems. So i guess tokens will be quite expensive.

Remind me, how much gold does average wow player has at his/her disposal?

Комментарий от Lancecaster

on 2015-03-02T13:10:22-06:00

Of course, if the price for a token is higher than a monthly subscription then they make a profit.

They make money regardless.

In this scenario, they break even:

Player A purchases a token from the Blizzard store and puts it up on the AH. Blizzard immediately receives payment for an additional month.

Player B immediately purchases the token from the AH and redeems it. This 'pays' their subscription for the month, and their standard payment gets pushed back a month. Blizzard now breaks even.

---

In any other scenario, they make money:

Player B purchases the token from the AH even 1 day later and redeems it. This 'pays' their subscription for the month, and their standard payment gets pushed back a month. Blizzard now has received 1 extra day (or more) of payment. Each day these go un-redeemed is ~$0.49 in their pocket (assuming they are priced similar to a standard monthly payment of $14.99).

In summary, it's a great idea for Blizzard financially, and a great solution to a lot of problems. In doesn't really 'hurt' anyone, other than your typical gold farmers. The biggest impact this will play, is it has the possibility to inflate the cost of OTHER goods on the AH on realms where this becomes more common, because the large sums of gold moving around may impact the major players on the AH.

Комментарий от k4ne

on 2015-03-02T13:17:33-06:00

So, what will happen to chinese gold website if you can buy game time with real money then sell the token back for gold ?

Комментарий от collegedog909

on 2015-03-02T13:19:52-06:00

Out of curiosity, and looking at the worst case scenario here, what happens if you run out of game time in the middle of a token transaction? I know the transaction wouldn't take long, but lets play devil's advocate here and say certain circumstances occur, last few minutes of game time, you go to the AH and buy a token, the game/computer crashes, your internet DCs, your server DCs, whatever it is, you are unable to use that token before your game timer ticks down, what now?

I know there was talk about the "Veteran" account system, which allows pre-existing accounts access to their accounts with similar restrictions to a "Starter" account. But your token is on a now inaccessible character, do you get some prompt that asks if you want to use the token to restore game time and access to your >20 level characters?

Might as well know, it's gonna happen. One way or another, this will happen, things like this ALWAYS happen.

Then the situation happened.... still not sure what point you are trying to make here.